Physical Sciences Research Highlights

Invited Review on Adding Biological Functionality to Electrodes Covers Decades of Research

International team examines advances in using nano-objects and nano-engineering

Five experts wrote a comprehensive review on nanomaterials for bio-functionalized electrodes. Artwork from this article is featured on the cover. Enlarge Image

Tomorrow's security and medical sensors and biofuel cells may rely on electrodes that incorporate the simplicity and effectiveness of proteins or other biological molecules. Creating the electrodes needed for these technologies demands rational design, building the material rather than discovering it through trial and error. A popular approach is to use nanomaterials, prized for their innovative features, such as large surface areas for an incredibly small volume, with biomolecules. In response to the quantity of scientific literature, five experts, including Dr. Yuehe Lin, wrote a comprehensive review of the literature for the Journal of Materials Chemistry B. The journal's editors selected their artwork to grace the cover.

Lin is a Laboratory Fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Professor, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University. He co-wrote the 31-page article, which contained more than 450 references, with Alain Walcarius, CNRS (France) Research Director and Head of the Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Microbiology for the Environment; Shelley D. Minteer, USTAR Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering, University of Utah; Joseph Wang, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Nanoengineering at the University of California, San Diego; and Arben Merkoçi, CREA Professor and Director of the Nanobioelectronics and Biosensors Group at Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, in Barcelona, Spain

Acknowledgments:

Sponsors: National Science Foundation (JW & SDM), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (JW & AM), and U.S. Department of Energy (JW). YL acknowledges support by the CounterACT Program, National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.